Best Online Poker Games to Make Money (It Might Surprise You)

So you are looking for the best online poker games to make money?

Believe me, I get it. While we all play poker for fun, everybody knows that poker is way more fun when it is a highly profitable side hobby or even a job as well.

So here is the quick answer:

The best online poker games to make money are low stakes cash games. You can also make a lot of money from poker by playing formats besides no limit hold'em. And the best poker games to make money will always be short handed.

Let's dig into this a bit deeper though. As a 10+ year poker pro myself, mostly online, I am going to break down the best online poker games to make money in this article.


1. Low Stakes is the Best Way to Make Money From Poker


I know it doesn't sound right. Play low stakes to make more money?

But the reason why this statement is true is because the lower stakes is where you are going to find the worst poker players. 

And since poker is a game where your profit is a direct result of who you are playing against, you can do the math from there.

So what do I mean by low stakes?

Well in a cash game I am talking about stakes like NL2, NL5 or NL10 online. This refers to 1c/2c blinds, 2c/5c blinds and 5c/10c blinds respectively.

I am pretty much always playing low stakes poker even to this day because the games are much easier to beat!

By the way I do have a video for this article now if you prefer to listen and watch me discuss the best poker games to make money instead.


Make sure you are subscribed to my poker YouTube channel so you don't miss my new videos.

Now I need to mention that if you are a highly advanced poker player there is no need to start off in games this low.

But then again, you probably aren't reading this article anyways because you already make tons of money from poker!

So for the vast majority of people this is why I suggest playing low stakes. Play against the worst players and you will find it way easier to make money from poker.

If you play NL2 online in particular, then make sure you check out my complete guide to crushing NL2.


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2. Choose Cash Games Over Tournaments


Now for some of you tournament players out here you might not want to hear this. But if making money is the goal in poker, especially consistent money, then cash games are king.

The main problem with tournaments is that you have to beat massive fields in order to win any significant kind of money. In fact, most tournaments are so top heavy that if you don't make the final table then it is basically a waste of your time.

Cash games on the other hand provide much more consistent wins. Most good players at the lower stakes for example should walk away with a profit on most days.

And at the very lowest stakes like NL2 online or $1/$2 online it is not uncommon to see very good winning players with a poker winning percentage above 80%.

People often ask me why I played so many millions of hands at the lowest stakes. It is because I literally almost never lose!

Now yes, of course, you are going to get unlucky sometimes (perfect example below):


But if you are playing big time volume like I do there is only so many times they can get lucky against you. You simply can't fight math in poker and expect to win over the long run!

Now, I am not saying this is the best strategy or the most optimal strategy since you will always make more money in poker by moving up, but let's face it, winning is fun. It is also the whole point of the game.

This is completely impossible in tournaments. While the payouts are huge when you finally do win one, most people will go weeks or months in between big wins. This can be tough psychologically for a lot of newer poker players as well.

So the best online poker games to make money in my opinion are definitely cash games.

By the way, if you want to know how I created some of the highest winnings in online poker history in low stakes cash games, check out my best selling book (and video series), Crushing the Microstakes.


3. Play Other Poker Formats Besides No Limit Hold'em


Now another key thing if you want to make money from online poker is to get away from the games that everybody already plays and has mastered.

This is hard for me to say since I teach No Limit Hold'em in 99% of everything that I put out here on this blog, in my books and my YouTube videos, but it is true.

While there are still many bad poker players to be found in No Limit Hold'em games, if you really want to find the big whales then it is better to also play games that are lesser known such as:
  • Pot Limit Omaha
  • Deuce to Seven Triple Draw
  • Chinese Poker
  • 7 Card Stud
  • Omaha Hi/Lo

And so on.

The biggest thing with these games is that the average skill level of the regs will be far lower than you will find in a No Limit Hold'em game. And that is because so few people really study these games a lot.

So with just a little bit of work you can often become the dominant player in these games. This is much harder to do in No Limit Hold'em because there is much more competition.


4. The Best Online Poker Games to Make Money Are Short Handed


The last bit of advice I have for you in order to find the best online poker games to make money can be a real game changer. And that is to play short handed.

What do I mean by short handed poker?

I mean when there are far fewer than the traditional 9 or 10 players like you see in most casino games. I am talking 6 or less. And the ultimate best online poker game to make money is heads up (1 on 1).

Short handed poker hand example:


The reason why this is the case is because at large tables full of people everybody just plays tight and waits for really good hands. However, when there are less players at the tables everyone always thinks everybody is trying to bluff them so they play looser.

Many recreational players also prefer short handed games because it means they get to play more hands and get involved in the action more often, which is precisely why they play poker.

Your average fish doesn't want to sit around waiting for 9 other people to act before he gets to play his hand. No, he craves the speed and action of short handed poker!

So fish love to sit in games with 3 or 4 people or even heads up. And therefore, so do I!

One of my absolute favorite ways to find the bad poker players is to just go online and look for 6max or full ring tables that are significantly less then full. I often look for 3 or 4 players.

I just sit down in these games (any random table) and I would say that at least 50% of the time at low stakes there will be a huge fish already sitting there.

What's even better is that I can often change seats to get direct position on the fish, because of course, there are tons of empty seats!

Compare this to your regular online poker player who goes on wait lists like everybody else just to play at a table with a bunch of other tight players.

You don't make money from poker like this! The best online poker games to make money from are the ones with the fish in them.

If you want to give yourself a way, way better chance of finding the fish fast go play in the games they love the most. Sit down at short handed tables or even just play heads up.

This is something that Daniel Negreanu even discusses in his new poker training course. Often the short-handed games are where the real money is!


5. Play Poker on the Easy Poker Sites


Last but not least, my #1 tip for you to find the best poker games to make money in is to simply play on the easiest poker sites.

Many people overlook this extremely crucial factor when playing online poker or live poker.

Some card rooms tend to attract lots of tight disciplined players. These are NOT the kind of players you want to be playing against if you want to make money.

And some other card rooms tend to attract a lot of new poker players, bad players and pure gamblers. These are exactly the kind of people you want to be playing with in order to maximize your profits.

You can study all of the most advanced poker strategy in the world, but if you aren't consistently playing against bad players who make lots of fundamental mistakes, you aren't going to win.

So make sure that you are not only playing at the easiest poker sites, but also double checking your HUD once you are seated at the table.

You want there to always be at least one clear identifiable fish at the table. And if you use a program like PokerTracker it will tell you this right on your screen at your poker table. 

Just turn on your PokerTracker HUD and look for the players with a VPIP of 40+ or more. Easy as that!


Final Thoughts


So what are the best online poker games to make money these days?

Well I think that low stakes games are always going to be the best way to make money from poker because these are the games that have the most bad players play in them.

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And if you play on the easy online poker sites, then it will be even more simple for you to find these bad players.

Also, I would suggest choosing cash games over tournaments because the money is just a lot more consistent in them. It's ok to play tourneys on the side (I do it all the time), but my bread and butter profit source from poker is cash games.

Furthermore, if you want to make a lot of money from poker I would highly suggest learning a few other lesser known games like Omaha, Stud or Chinese Poker. Most players in these games are really bad.

Lastly, the best online poker games to make money will always be short handed games of ideally 4 or less players. And the reason why is because fish love to play in these games and gamble it up.

Lastly, if you want to know how to consistently make $1000+ per month in low stakes poker games, make sure you grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.


Let me know what you think are the best online poker games to make money in the comments below.

Best Online Poker Games to Make Money

15 comments:

  1. they been limiting regular cash tables on the site, i believe each account is only limited to 6 tables (ie 888 poker), but i dont have a HUD to play fast poker. Is HUD a necessary?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Moan,

      I wrote an article about if HUDs are necessary. You can find it here:

      https://www.blackrain79.com/2015/04/can-you-win-at-online-poker-without.html

      Delete
    2. Hand2Note is free for the micros.

      Delete
  2. Hey Nathan,

    Hope all is good. I am recently switched over to PLO and following the course of JNandez. Playing at PS and studies the game.
    I start at 0.10 and I am continue to play at PS for now to improve my game.
    However, I am living in Asia and the problem is low traffic on cash games at sites beside from PS. I looked at 888, Party and some weird ones. Do you have any recommendations for PLO on cash micro stakes? I play/studie daily abt 8 hours split for now but later I am looking to go to a good site where the traffic is good when I get up daily at 7 and play from that time. I know you have the same.:)

    Hope to hear from you.
    Best,
    Maurice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Maurice,

      While I recommend playing other formats besides NLHE, I don't consider myself to be an expert on any of them. So my advice to you would be to ask somebody who is an expert on PLO.

      Delete
  3. Hello there!

    Could you make an article on how to play on tables with 2, 3 players?

    Yes, there's a lot of fish there, but also there are some sharks (who I've got history on full ring tables) also hunting fish there.

    Thank you very much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Also, as soon as you write this article, I suspect lots of regs will start to go there to hunt fish too.

      Delete
    2. Hey LoL, sure I will make a note and perhaps write that article in the future. And yes, you are right. You have to always stay ahead of the curve in poker because once everybody finds out a certain poker room or game has lots of fish, it won't have them for long.

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  4. Hi Nathan! I'm a fan from Argentina. I earn 100 USD in a Week, I expect to continue in this run.

    I have a question, how i must use the Starcoins? In the past i played the Sit and Go that I saw in your article, but the rakeback changed :(

    Have a happy new year!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey garnicamartin,

      Nice results, keep it up! PokerStars have changed their rakeback program frequently in recent years but essentially Starscoin can be used to purchase cash rebates, tournament tickets and more.

      I talk about it all in this article:

      https://www.blackrain79.com/2016/07/pokerstars-starscoin.html

      Delete
  5. When it comes to PS the tables that are the most full have the highest VPIP. Is it not best to play full ring then? Some full tables have like 40-50% VPIP.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I personally don't pay much attention to table averages. I am looking specifically for recreational players (VPIP 40%+). You can find these players in either 6max or full ring.

      Delete
    2. Do you find these players using a HUD while spectating games?

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    3. You just sit down at a table with empty seats and unknown players, and after a few orbits you will see, if there is a fish at the table. If no you leave. If yes you tag him, so you can find him in the lobby next time. So basically a trial and error approach. New tables starting up will almost always have a higher ratio of bad players, because tables running for a longer time is filled from the waiting list, and bad players almost never go on waiting lists.

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  6. About playing short handed its easier said then done on PokerStars, since any table with empty seats will tend to fill up relatively quickly. But that being said I completely agree, it is much better to get on starting tables or even start them yourself, than to join waiting lists.

    At PokerStars you sometimes see “good” tables with 15 players waiting to join, and its just laughable. At the time guy number 15 gets to join, it will be a completely different table from the one, he put himself on the list for.

    ReplyDelete